ACReSAL targets more community projects with additional financing

The National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, Abdulhamid Umar

The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes Project has said it will use the proposed additional financing from the World Bank to scale up community-impact projects and reach more beneficiaries across the country.

The Project Task Team Leader, Dr Joy Agene, disclosed this on Monday at the opening of the Hybrid Additional Financing Pre-Appraisal Mission held at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre, Bauchi State.

Agene said the additional financing was aimed at expanding the impact of the ACReSAL project rather than changing its existing design.

She noted that the project had performed well and delivered on its objectives, stressing that the additional financing would enable it to replicate and scale up its achievements.

Agene stated, “I recall that the last time I was here was in May 2023. It was the effectiveness era of the project. We had a project launch and highlighted what it would take for the project to benefit from additional financing.

“Today, in September 2026, I can say that Bauchi State listened and did what was expected and has delivered on the objectives of ACReSAL,” the Project Task Team Leader said.

She pointed out that the project had contributed significantly to poverty reduction by increasing farmers’ incomes.

Agene continued, “We have statistics to show that ACReSAL alone has contributed to the reduction of poverty through increased income for farmers by about 41 per cent. That is huge.

“We hope that with the additional financing, that percentage can grow beyond 50 per cent and more,” she added.

According to her, the additional financing is expected to focus largely on scaling up activities at the community level and extending the project’s reach.

“Typically, when most projects are going for additional financing, they change the design because it did not perform very well. But in the case of ACReSAL, we are not changing the design; we are scaling up.

“Meaning, we want to see more work done at the community level. We want to reach more people. We want to reclaim more hectares beyond the over one million hectares that have been reclaimed,” Agene stated.

She explained that the pre-appraisal mission was part of the World Bank’s internal process following Nigeria’s request for $300m in additional financing for the project.

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Thus, Agene expressed appreciation to the Bauchi State Government for hosting the mission and supporting the implementation of ACReSAL.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State Coordinator of ACReSAL, Dr Ibrahim Kabir, said the additional financing became necessary, following the project’s midterm review, which revealed that some ongoing projects might not be completed with the funds initially allocated for the six-year project cycle.

Kabir said the World Bank and the participating states agreed to extend the project through additional financing following the review of its performance across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He explained that the five-day mission, which began on Monday and would end on Friday, would review the project’s previous performance, assess proposals and identify projects that could be scaled up under the three components of ACReSAL.

“The 19 states and the FCT are here in leadership, while the World Bank team, including all the three Task Team Leaders, are here in Bauchi, alongside the national office, to spend five days, starting from today up to Friday,” Kabir said.

He added that the mission would also inspect projects executed under ACReSAL in Bauchi State.

Kabir informed the gathering that Bauchi was selected to host the mission because of its performance and tangible projects implemented under ACReSAL.

He noted that Bauchi was among the states that successfully launched the project in May 2023 and had implemented several impactful projects.

While declaring the engagement open, the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, expressed confidence in the activities of ACReSAL and said the state government was preparing to establish an ACReSAL agency to sustain the gains recorded by the project.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Auwal Jatau, said the proposed agency would provide institutional support for sustaining climate-resilient communities and ensuring the sustainable utilisation of natural resources.

He said the agency would help sustain the project’s interventions beyond the expiration of the ACReSAL programme.

The governor commended the World Bank and the ACReSAL team for their contributions to climate resilience, environmental restoration and improved livelihoods in the state.